0 MAC A Tartan Tale - eyeshadow palettes

I wasn't planning on gettin anything from Tartan tale at first other than one of the brush sets (For the pouch)... But i was kinda attracted to the combination of colors in 2 of the palettes 6 Twists of Tartan and 6 Reelers and Rockers eye palettes. I love love love the tartan print packaging of this Holiday collection. In fact, I would have to say that the packaging for this holiday collection is the best ever packagin. . . .

Packaging of the 2 eyeshadow palettes - it has some sort of a classy feel about it.

The first time i set my eyes on this palette, i was instantly attracted to the 2 goldish shades in the palettes. I find this to be a pretty versatile palette. The following are just 2 tips for using this palette. Of course, there are many other ways to using this palette. It's all about playing around with the colors and placement of colors =) Generally, I love the textures of most of the eyeshadows in this palettes (4 colors are of the veluxe pearl textures!!! Smooth, pigmented  and blendable!).The only exception being Carbon e/s. I find it a tad chalky .....

 For a smokey look:

1. Use #1 as a base color

2. Apply #3 on the eyelid and slowly blend it upwards

3. Using MAC #217 or #275 brush, apply #6 jus below the brow bone and in the socket area to contour the eyes and blend the black shadow together

4. Use MAC #219 to apply #2 to the inner V of the eyes to brighten the eyes

5. Apply brow bone highlighter

For a day/neutral look:

1. Also use #1 as a base color

2. Apply #4 all over the lid

3. Apply #6 on the outer 1/3 lid and blending it inwards and upwards

4, Apply #5 on the inner corner of the eye and lower lash line

5. Finish off with brow bone highlighter...

Comments on the individual e/s

White Rabbit: A nice basic base color but easily dupeable

Melt my Heart: Kinda reminds me of MAC's electra e/s but just a tad more silvery. Electra has more blue undertones in it. Great texture and pigmentation

Carbon: Never did like Carbon e/s. It's pretty chalky to me

Family Treasures: Love love love this color and texture. Reminds me a bit of MAC's goldmine e/s just that goldmine has more orange undertones to it. Definitely different enough from goldmine e/s to own both e/s

Gaelic gold: I also love this color and texture.Hmmm can't think of anything that's close to this color though. Definitely a must have shade if u like goldy kinda shadows like me

Crown & Sceptre: Reminds me a bit of coppering e/s... I do like it. But it's not terribly unique though.

All in all, I love this palette for the combination of colors even though some colors are not unique. I cannot be luggin my MAC 15 pan palettes every time i go out or travel. This is a useful palette to have. Well, at least for me.

I am usually a sucker for palettes with interesting combination of colors (I didn't purchase the purple palette and the brown palette cause they were like very common..and every christmas, MAC is bound to release a purple and and a brown palette and i think i have more than enough purple and  brown shadows to last me a lifetime. However, if u are new to MAC, I do think it's worth gettin the holiday set as a start. They are value for money). Here was what i did with this palette:

1. Apply #1 as the base color all over the lid

2. Apply #2 up to the socket area and slowly blending it out

3. Apply #3 on the crease area

4. Apply #6 on the outer 1/3 corner of the eye and outer v of the eye

5. Apply #4 as a eye contour color on the socket

6. Apply #5 as a lower lash line color

It is POSSIBLE to use all the colors at one time... =) I am loving this palette especially the #3 green eyeshadow

Comments on the individual eyeshadows:

Lady's Prance: It's slightly greyish when applied...very unique color, but i won't recommend it to be worn alone. Definitely to be used in combination with other colors

Rolled Gold: Reminds me of sumptious olive, but sumptious olive has more brown undertones in it.

High spirits: Love love love this green. Great color payoff and texture. Doesn't look similar to MAC's swimming e/s if u are wondering. This is a tad brighter than MAC's swimming e/s and is definitely easier to work with.

Vainglorious: Nice texture and color payoff. Easy to blend

Set to Dance: A bit on the chalky side...but still workable

Bows & Curtseys: I like pairing this with high spirits and roll gold to give a semi green smokey look

Well, that's it for now....... Happy Holidays to all =)

2 Shu Uemura Face architect liquid foundation

Ever since i bought it about 3 mths back, i've been faithfully using it almost everyday (It was only about a mth ago when i bought MAC's face n body foundation, that I sorta neglected it for a while...but now i'm back to it...).

Pros: Texture is smooth and feels pretty light on the skin although it's definitely not as lightweight as MAC's face and body foundation. It provides medium coverage (So if u are looking for full coverage, i dun think this is the foundation for ya...) and lasts pretty much on me the whole day without oxidising much.

Cons: Not much oil control.

Would repurchase this again and again. Have not broken out from this foundation and it evens out my skintone nicely while giving it a smooth feel. Good for days when i want some coverage... Would wear MAC's face n body foundation on days when i'm in the mood for really

"sheer" make up.

0 MAC Venomous Villains part III - Lipglosses

Continued from the previous post... (Many apologies for the lack of updates as i'm currently having some problems with the internet connection on my own PC)

Pictures and swatches of the lipglosses from venomous Villains..

Strange Potion lipglass If u are a coral sorta person like me, you will like the color of this gloss. It's pigmented and applies smoothly and evenly. Shimmers are relatively subtle as compared to Devilishly Stylish.

Devlishly Stylish: Looks peachy in the tube, but comes out pretty sheer on the lips, with shimmers that are more obvious than its counterpart Strange potion.

Revenge Is Sweet: Looks really dark and purple in the tube but when applied, it turns into a nice sheer pinkish-fuschia kinda gloss. Definitely not as pigmented as it looks like in the tube. Reminds me a little of She Booms! Lipgelee from C-shock collection launched donkey yrs ago. hee hee

From left to right: Strange potion, Devilishly Stylish, Revenge is Sweet lipglass

0 MAC Venomous Villains part II - Lipstuff

From Left to Right: Innocence Beware, Violetta, Toxic Tale and Heartless. Click to enlarge

Reminds me a lot of MAC's hue lipstick when i first saw it, (refer to last picture for comparison swatch), just that it's just slightly more pinky peach than Hue lipstick

If Rebel Lipstick (Berry color) and Show Orchid (Bright Fuschia with blue undertone) had a Baby, this would be the color. Being an amplified creme, Violetta is pigmented, creamy and smooth with satin like finish. Suitable for both people with both fair and tanned skins

My favourite color from this collection. It's texture is so smooth and creamy (unlike some of other MAC's satin finishes i've tried) that I almost thought it was an amplified cream. I'm totally in love with this coral red color. It's the perfect face brightening coral lippie for me. Many have compared this to Vegas volt (an amplified creme), but they are not really similar, Vegas volt has slightly more orange undertones than toxic tale. (Refer to last pic for comparison swatch).

Honestly speaking, I don't like red lipsticks on me. But this red lipstick is still wearableto me and i like it better when i dab it out with fingers leaving a red stain on my lips. It's not the really bright one like Ruby Woo or Russian Red which nobody will ever catch me dead in.

Comparison swatches

2 MAC Venomous Villains Part I - Blush, Beauty powder and Mineralized e/s

Knowing how MAC's limited edition collection sells out like a hotcakes, I rushed down to the counter before it open to purchase my items.. And not surprisingly, there were many people waiting outside for the store to open. And oh boy was it a madhouse,  once the door opened at 10am sharp...everybody rushed in. And it was chaos. There were only 2 MAs on duty, so i was lucky to have bought whatever i wanted. And my friend wanted a nail polish...but omg, it was OUT OF STOCK EVEN THOUGH THE STORE JUS OPENED. So i had to rush to another counter to buy for my friend, but they were out of stock too...finally @ the 3rd counter i managed to grab a Bad Fairy nail polish for my friends. Judging from the amount of items  i bought ( 3 bps, 3 blushers, 3 lipsticks, 3 lipglosses and 2 Mineralized eyeshadows), I think this has to be my favourite MAC collection of the year.

I have divided my Venomous Villains product swatches into 2 parts. Without further ado, here are the pictures. Will edit post for review of the products @ a later time once i start using them

Packaging for the beauty powders

Packaging for the blushers & mineralized eyeshadows

Bite of An Apple vs other MAC blushers

Briar Rose Beauty powder vs Summer Rose Beauty powder from Rose Romance collection

Her Own Devices vs Tenderling blush (regular)

Oh So Fair vs Blush of Youth & Alpha girl

Review of :

Her Own devices Beauty powder: May look a bit brownish pink in the pan, but once applied it gives a pretty natural peachy flush. Texture of powder is smooth as with most MAC's beauty powders. For fairer to medium skin tones, two layers of this is enough to suffice as a blush color. For tanner skin tones, this would act more like a finishing powder for the face. Am loving this so much that i've been wearing this almost everyday now. 

0 OPI nail polish in Elephantastic Pink

Bought this wonderfully neon rose pink nail polish at  the nail salon where i did my mani and pedi today. The first time i saw this color being applied on me, I fell instantly in love with the color so much so that i bought one bottle so that i can still use the color even if i'm not visiting the nail salon.

It brightens up my otherwise dull and sallow looking hand... haha...

0 MUFE Kabuki Brush

I swear by this Kabuki brush.

It's the softest ever brush i've ever used. Honestly, when i first saw it at the local Sephora store, my reaction was like wth... SGD$84 for a brush?? But i decided to give it a try anyway, since at that time i didn't own any kabuki brushes (unless u count the mini 181 SE brush as one). So i bought it, and ever since i've been using this EVERY single day without fail for my loose powders, powder foundation and MAC MSFN. It buffs the powder nicely and evenly into the skin giving a very even and flawless finish. Most importantly, it remains soft after multiple washes and has not yet shed a single hair on me. (I have this brush with me for almost a year now). For those who are curious what's this kabuki made of...yeah it's synthetic...but it works really really well in pickin up the powders. My Holy Grail powder brush. Oh and it comes with a small cute pouch which is really helpful for travelling so that the brush will not get damaged. =) 

Highly recommended!!! MUST buy

0 MAC peach-brown blushers

Here's just a quick post on the comparison pic and swatch of the peach-brown blushers that I own. 

Tenderling: Mostly peach tones, but also has just a tiny hint of pink undertones. Excellent for fair skinned people or people who wants just the tiniest hint of color in their face

Garb: Goes on more peachy than Tenderling but less peach/orange than Peaches. (This is a Limited edition shade from Pret A Papier collection)

Personal Style: Leaning towards the brown side, but still gives a pretty natural flush on the cheeks when applied. 

 Sincere: Looks really similar to Gingerly in the pan. But it has less reddish undertones than Gingerly. Both are of the same textures...sheertones. MAC Sheertone blushers go on lighter than in the pan and color pigmentation can be buillt up.

Gingerly: A slightly redder version of Sincere, recommended more for medium to tanned skins. Fair skin would do better with Sincere. 

Coppertone: Definitely a reddish brown shade. Being a Matte blush, it's extremely pigmented. Do apply with a light hand for this blush especially if u are leaning towards the fair side. 

0 MAC face and body foundation

Recently just bought this foundation from MAC called the face and body foundation.

Yeah, so basically it's a REALLY REALLY sheer foundation that is so lightweight that u don't feel like you are wearing foundation on the face

And also because it's a really sheer foundation, I would only recommend this to people with normal skin who don't need much coverage and also with normal to dry skin. In fact when i compared this to my MAC select tint (a tinted moisturizer) which i have previously used, it's even lighter than that.

No complains about this product as it evens out my skintone nicely. But for people who are looking for coverage, this is definitely NOT the foundation as its coverage is pretty sheer. Recommended to people with who do not need coverage. Finish is smooth and lightweight. 

And yep, since this is a face AND body foundation, u can use this over your body as well. It comes in a pretty big bottle of 120ml... And unless you are using this for the body as well, one bottle of this can last a pretty long time. Damage: S$58

Edited: I have been using this everyday for a few days now together with my MUFE translucent setting powder and I love love love the sheer, flawless and smooth look this liquid foundation gives. Feel so lightweight on my skin. My new Holy Grail now!

0 OPI nail polishes in Glitzerland and Catch me In Your Net

I am usually not a nail polish person, but recently while window shopping at Sephora, I decided to play around with some of the OPI colors there. And boy, I instantly fell in love with the wide range of colors and quality of OPI nail polishes. I swatched a no of colors on my nails and spent a long time in deciding which colors to get, but oh well these were 2 of the colors which I bought after much deliberation (Too many colors to choose from!). Lemming for more OPI nail polishes now!

I really like the champagne gold color of Glitzerland, It's something which is not too loud, but yet simple and classy. And also when and if it chips off, the chips will not be as obvious as other colors.

Loving this shimmery turqoise/teal color from OPI. If i'm not wrong, i think this is a Limited edition shade from their 2010 collection

3 MAC Pink lipsticks

Not a Big fan of bubble gum pink lipsticks as i feel that i need to complement my whole make up jus to match the pink. I am asian and although i'm considered quite fair, I have a lot of yellow undertones which makes it difficult for me to choose the perfect shade of pink. Nevertheless, i still own a couple of pinks from MAC. 

I personally feel the more wearable ones for Asian skin are Lovelorn, Hot Gossip, creme cup, Hue and Plink.I find Gaga and Real doll has too much blue undertones to it to look "Natural" on Asian skins. Those 2 lipsticks definitely has to be WORN with make up. Otherwise, yeah it can look kinda odd on Asian skins

Yeah I only own like 8 pink lipsticks from MAC...as Yeah..I'm not a pink lip person and yes...i'm not a lip person in general. Here are the 8 pink lippies which i own from mac : Plink!, Hue, High Tea, Please Me, Lovelorn, Creme Cup, Gaga and real doll.

I would not recommend Plink! hue or high tea to people with pigmented lips as the colors are really sheer and require layering in order for the color to appear. Best recommended to conceal the lips before applying Plink!, hue and high tea. . .MAC's lustre and glaze lip formulas are moisturizing for the lips but they appear more sheer than in the tube. And if u like a glossy finish, you would probably like the lustres and Glazes.

I personally actually quite like Please Me lipstick. It's one pink which i feel has more warm undertones and which i can actually WEAR...without looking too fake or odd like gaga or real doll. and Yes, it's a matte, and it' very pigmented. Note though, Matte lippies can be a tad drying so pls moisturize your lips really well with a lip balm before applyin. But the color payoff  and staying power is excellent as compared to other textures. 

Nuff of me typing and typing... Here are pics of the lippies

Lovelorn (lustre), Creme cup, Gaga and Real Doll lipsticks

Plink!, Hue, High Tea and Please Me lipsticks

Being a lustre formula, Plink! appears more as a sheer wash of light glossy pink on the lips by itself.

An excellent nude pink shade if u are looking for nudish pink lipsticks

Not exactly pink, but somewhere along the lines of pinkish brown. I like this as a sheer wash of color on my lips for the natural look. And i really like the lustre finish of MAC lipsticks,even though some people might find the color too sheer.

I hardly wear Matte lipsticks, But this and Honeylove, also from MAC are the rare ones which i do wear.

I would say that Lovelorn lipstick is one of my favourite pink lipsticks from MAC. It's not as sheer as some of the other lustre forumla lipsticks and it's not overly cool toned for people with warmer skintones like myself.

My all time favourite baby pink lipstick from MAC. The cremesheen formula means that it is creamy, moisturizing for the lips and with a highly pigmented and glossy finish. It's something like the creamier and more pigmented version of MAC's lustre lipsticks

BAH! I hate how this looks on me. It's WAY too cool on my really YELLOW skin tone. Just bought it for collection sake...

This was Limited edition from the Barbie Loves MAC collection. I can't say that i'm thrilled with this lipstick either as ever since i bought this i have only actually worn this out for like 2 or 3 times. :X

Finally, swatches of the 8 pink lip colours on my hand (click to enlarge)

 

Last but not least, pls note that lipstick shades varies from person to person. It also depends on the pigmentation of the natural lip color of the individual, so pls always try to get the colors tested at the color :P One man's meat may be another's poison and vice versa. Cheers!